Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Program (NUPAO)

AZ Healthy Communities

Making the healthy choice the easy choice.

Where you live impacts your health, and Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has recognized this connection. Working collaboratively with outside agencies, ADHS plans to help foster environments that support healthy behavior, such as biking and walking.

The purpose of AZ Healthy Communities is to link and support Arizona communities that are using, or are interested in using, collaborative approaches to healthy community planning and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. AZ Healthy Communities strives to increase neighborhoods that promote healthier lifestyles, increase evidence on the effectiveness of innovative healthy community planning, and decrease health and social inequities by focusing on the influence of where we live.

Design

"Design" refers to how communities are laid out. Are the streets in a grid-like pattern, or are there curving cul-de-sacs? Is there a sidewalk for pedestrians and a bike lane for cyclists? The pattern of the community will affect how quickly community members can access services. Traditional patterns, like grid streets, allows more access points to public services, while cul-de-sacs and curving streets force community members to spend more time to get to their destinations. The streetscape can support opportunities for alternate transportation, by providing amenities such as sidewalks, bike lanes and street lighting. Design will influence how easily community members can use physical activity to simultaneously reach their destination and improve their health.

Any documents contained on this Web site that are translations from original text written in English are unofficial and not binding on this state or a political subdivision of this state. To learn about how ADHS collects information about website users, please review our Website Privacy Policy.Los documentos que son traducciones al Español y que se encuentran en esta página Web no tienen validez oficial ni legal en este Estado o en alguna entidad politica del mismo.